KIBRA and CLSTN2 polymorphisms exert interactive effects on human episodic memory

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Claudia Preuschhof - , Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Free University of Berlin (Author)
  • Hauke R. Heekeren - , Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Free University of Berlin (Author)
  • Shu Chen Li - , Max Planck Institute for Human Development (Author)
  • Thomas Sander - , University of Cologne (Author)
  • Ulman Lindenberger - , Max Planck Institute for Human Development (Author)
  • Lars Bäckman - , Karolinska Institutet (Author)

Abstract

Individual differences in episodic memory are highly heritable. Several studies have linked a polymorphism in the gene encoding the KIBRA protein to episodic memory performance. Results regarding CLSTN2, the gene encoding the synaptic protein calsyntenin 2, have been less consistent, possibly pointing to interactions with other genes. Given that both KIBRA and CLSTN2 are expressed in the medial temporal lobe and have been linked to synaptic plasticity, we investigated whether KIBRA and CLSTN2 interactively modulate episodic memory performance (n = 383). We replicated the beneficial effect of the KIBRA T-allele on episodic memory, and discovered that this effect increases with the associative demands of the memory task. Importantly, the memory-enhancing effect of the KIBRA T-allele was boosted by the presence of the CLSTN2 C-allele, which positively affected memory performance in some previous studies. In contrast, the presence of CLSTN2 C-allele led to reduced performance in subjects homozygous for the KIBRA C-allele. Overall, these findings suggest that KIBRA and CLSTN2 interactively modulate episodic memory performance, and underscore the need for delineating the interactive effects of multiple genes on brain and behavior.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)402-408
Number of pages7
JournalNeuropsychologia
Volume48
Issue number2
Publication statusPublished - Jan 2010
Peer-reviewedYes
Externally publishedYes

External IDs

Scopus 72449179320
PubMed 19804789

Keywords

Keywords

  • Associative demands, Episodic memory, Gene-gene interactions, Genes and behavior, Hippocampus, Medial temporal lobe